Alex Rocco

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Alex Rocco

Rocco at the 1990 Annual Emmy Awards
Born February 29, 1936 (1936-02-29) (age 72)
Somerville, Massachusetts

Alex Rocco (born February 29, 1936) is an American actor. His roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies, the latter fitting in with his reported connections to mob organizations.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

BPD mugshot of Alex Rocco taken in the early 1960's
BPD mugshot of Alex Rocco taken in the early 1960's

Rocco was born Alexander Federico Petricone, Jr. in Somerville, Massachusetts, the son of Mary (née Di Biase) and Alexander Sam Petricone.[1] Known by the nickname "Bobo" as a young man, Rocco had connections to the Winter Hill Gang in the early 1960s (a mostly Irish gang, despite his Italian-American background). An incident in which George McLaughlin of a rival gang tried to pick up on Petricone's girlfriend helped start the Irish Mob Wars of the early 1960s in Boston. Petricone was a suspect in the October 1961 murder of Bernie McLaughlin, but was never charged. He then moved to California, began using the name Alex Rocco, lost a considerable amount of weight, and got into Hollywood. After moving to Los Angeles he became a member of the Bahá'í Faith.[2]

[edit] Career

Rocco played the part of Moe Greene, a Las Vegas casino owner, in the film The Godfather. Greene's character represented the top Jewish mobster in the United States.

Rocco also played a gangster in the film The Friends of Eddie Coyle about the Boston Irish Mob, a part very close to his own life. Other notable movies in which Rocco has appeared include The Wedding Planner, as Salvatore and appeared uncredited in Smokin' Aces. He also played a small part in the Disney/Pixar film, A Bug's Life as Thorny. In the film That Thing You Do!, Rocco played the founder of Playtone Records.

He also has a recurring part in the long running animated series The Simpsons as the head of Itchy and Scratchy Studios, Roger Meyers, Jr.. In DVD commentaries, Rocco has expressed true gratitude to The Simpsons' staff for allowing him his first voiceover role. He has also taken a part on an episode of Family Guy (in the episode "Mind Over Murder", he had a memorable role as the masculine woman) and he is known for having played Charlie Polniaczek, Jo's father on The Facts of Life. From 1989 to 1990, Rocco was a regular on the television comedy series The Famous Teddy Z in which he played "Al Floss", a slick cheesy Hollywood talent agent and foil to Jon Cryer in the title role, an ex-mailroom clerk turned superagent. Rocco received an Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for this role.

In 2008, Alex Rocco starred in Audi's Super Bowl commercial for the R8 supercar. The commercial was inspired by one of the films Rocco was in: The Godfather. He portrays a rich man who finds the front fascia of his luxury car in his bed, a nod to the scene from the original movie in which Jack Woltz, a rich movie producer, finds the head of his prized racehorse in his bed.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Alex Rocco Biography (1936-)
  2. ^ Obituary Sandie Rocco Copyright Coastal View (Carpinteria Valley, CA, USA) 2002
  3. ^ AdRants Audi's Godfather Ad Powerful, Stellar, Captivating

[edit] External links


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Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Comedy Series

Ted Knight (1976) · Gary Burghoff (1977) · Rob Reiner (1978) · Robert Guillaume (1979) · Harry Morgan (1980) · Danny DeVito (1981) · Christopher Lloyd (1982) · Christopher Lloyd (1983) · Pat Harrington, Jr. (1984) · John Larroquette (1985) · John Larroquette (1986) · John Larroquette (1987) · John Larroquette (1988) · Woody Harrelson (1989) · Alex Rocco (1990) · Jonathan Winters (1991) · Michael Jeter (1992) · Michael Richards (1993) · Michael Richards (1994) · David Hyde Pierce (1995) · Rip Torn (1996) · Michael Richards (1997) · David Hyde Pierce (1998) · David Hyde Pierce (1999) · Sean Hayes (2000)

People from Somerville, Massachusetts